The deaths bring Israel's toll to 407 soldiers over more than 15 months of war on Gaza.
Reports from Gaza indicated numerous killings and attacks from Israeli airstrikes, highlighting the ongoing intensity of Israel war on Gaza.
Meanwhile, negotiators in Qatar were reportedly close to finalizing a deal that could end the war and secure the release of hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The soldiers who died were part of the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit. The IDF stated that the incident occurred during a mission in the Beit Hanoun area on Monday morning.
According to initial reports, the soldiers were inside a building preparing to use explosives for engineering work when the explosives detonated. The explosion caused the building to collapse, killing the five soldiers.The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, the IDF added.
Yotam Vilk says the image of Israeli soldiers killing an unarmed Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip is seared in his mind.
An officer in the armored corps, Vilk said the instructions were to shoot any unauthorized person who entered an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in Gaza. He saw at least 12 people killed, he said, but it is the shooting of the teen that he can’t shake.
“He died as part of a bigger story. As part of the policy of staying there and not seeing Palestinians as people,” Vilk, 28, told The Associated Press.
Vilk is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 15-month conflict and refusing to serve anymore, saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. While the movement is small — some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop fighting if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire — soldiers say it’s the tip of the iceberg and they want others to come forward.
Their refusal comes at a time of mounting pressure on Israel and Hamas to wind down the fighting. Ceasefire talks are underway, and both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have called for a deal by the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Seven soldiers who’ve refused to continue fighting in Gaza spoke with AP, describing how Palestinians were indiscriminately killed and houses destroyed. Several said they were ordered to burn or demolish homes that posed no threat, and they saw soldiers loot and vandalize residences.
Soldiers are required to steer clear of politics, and they rarely speak out against the army. After Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel quickly united behind the war launched against the militant group. Divisions here have grown as the war progresses, but most criticism has focused on the mounting number of soldiers killed and the failure to bring home hostages, not actions in Gaza.
Yuval Green, center, and Yotam Vilk, left, take part in a panel discussion for soldiers refusing to serve in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
International rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes and genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice is investigating genocide allegations filed by South Africa. The International Criminal Court is seeking the arrests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Israel adamantly rejects genocide allegations and says it takes extraordinary measures to minimize civilian harm in Gaza. The army says it never intentionally targets civilians, and investigates and punishes cases of suspected wrongdoing. But rights groups have long said the army does a poor job of investigating itself.
The army told AP it condemns the refusal to serve and takes any call for refusal seriously, with each case examined individually. Soldiers can go to jail for refusing to serve, but none who signed the letter has been detained, according to those who organized the signatures.
The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 46,500 victims, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. israel has killed 204 jounrliasts in Gaza during the same period.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Meanwhile, data from the Lebanese Health Ministry indicates that since Israel’s onslaught against Lebanon began on October 8, 2023, at least 4,068 people have been killed, including women, children and health workers, while 16,668 others have been injured.
Lebanon and Israel reached a cease-fire deal on Nov. 27 last year to end over 14 months of fighting between the Israeli army and the Hezbollah group.
Lebanese authorities have reported at least 472 Israeli violations of the cease-fire, however, including the deaths of 32 people and injury of 39 others.
The General Directorate of Lebanese Civil Defense announced late Sunday in a statement that it had retrieved the bodies and remains of 11 people from the town of Tayr Harfa and five from the town of Alma al-Shaab and handed them over to the authorities for DNA testing to identify them.
Under the cease-fire terms, Israel is required to withdraw its forces south of the Blue Line – a de facto border – in phases, while the Lebanese army is to deploy in southern Lebanon within 60 days.
